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I don't know what it is about St. Patrick's day but every year I seem to go all out and this year was no different. Last year I came across this recipe for apricot glazed corned beef with sauteed cabbage and colcannon on Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewy a bit late to make it in time but I have been patiently waiting and now it was finally time to try it. I have used apricot glazes in savoury dishes before so I know that they work well and the honey dijon glazed corned beef that I made last year was a great success with its sweet and tangy glaze so I knew that this one would also be great.

This corned beef recipe was a slow cooker version and one of the things that I liked about it was that everything was "pre-cooked" together in the slow cooker and once that was done there was very little effort required to finish everything off. I did run in one problem and that was that I was unable to get a 3 pound corned beef and the 5+ pound corned beef that I ended up with was too big to fit into the slow cooker. After a few minutes of worrying I decided that it was not a problem as I have cooked corned beef on the stove top before and I could simply cut the beef in half and do half in the slow cooker and half on the stove. I also decided to make one a little larger and use the apricot glaze on it and the smaller half I would just save for another dish after it was cooked. I really liked that after placing the beef in the pot you could pretty much just walk away and leave it for a few hours with no effort require.

Both the slow cooker version and the stove top version came out beautifully and the larger one from the slow cooker got glazed up and popped into the oven right away. While it was finishing up I quickly made the colcannon and the sauteed cabbage, neither of which were too much trouble. The corned beef turned out nice and tender and although I think I prefer the honey dijon glaze, the apricot glaze was definitely a keeper! I served the corned beef with some extra apricot glaze for even more apricoty goodness. Overall, this meal was one of the best that I have had in a while and I am definitely looking forward to enjoying the leftovers for lunches this week. I also already have plans for that second, unglazed corned beef.

Colcannon is an Irish version of mashed potatoes that also contains cabbage or kale. You really can't go wrong with creamy mashed potatoes but I liked the sound of adding some roughage and I could not help but noticing the bacon in this recipe. One of the good things about making colcannon when you make a corned beef is that you can throw both the potatoes and the cabbage into the pot with the beef to cook and they will absorb all of that extra flavour. Once the potatoes and cabbage came out of the pot all that was left to do was cook the bacon and saute the onion and cabbage a bit before mashing everything up. The colcannon was so good! The potatoes were nice and smooth and creamy and the cabbage and potatoes added a nice texture.

With a whole head of cabbage going into the pot, there was really too much to use it all in the colcannon so sauteed cabbage was a great way to use up the rest of it. Since you are going to need something to saute the cabbage in anyways, why not use some bacon grease? And if you need bacon grease why not cook up some bacon and add it to the sauteed cabbage as well? Though simple, this sauteed cabbage was really good! The cabbage was already nice an tasty from absorbing the corned beef and its pickling spices flavours and then you add some bacon and everything is all good.

Apricot Glazed Corned Beef

Tender slow cooked corned beef served in a sweet and tangy apricot glaze.

ingredients

3 cups water

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

1 (3 pound) corned beef brisket with pickling spices

1/2 cup apricot preserves

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons dijon mustard

2 tablespoons grainy mustard

directions

Mix the water, sugar, vinegar and garlic in a large pot, add the corned beef, and the pickling spices and bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered until the meat is tender, about 1 hour per pound.

Mix the the apricot preserves, brown sugar and mustards in a bowl.

Place the beef in a baking pan and cover in the apricot glaze.

Bake in a preheated 350F/180C oven until the glaze is bubbling.

Let it rest for 10 minutes, slice and serve with the remaining apricot glaze.

Slow Cooker: Mix the water, sugar, vinegar and garlic in the slow cooker, add the corned beef, and the pickling spices and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-6 hours before continuing on with the remaining steps.

That corned beef looks delicious! I've not heard of colcannon, but want to try it. I love a good boiled dinner, especially the cabbage. I can just imagine the flavor that is picked up by the potato and cabbage from the cooking beef...yum!

I really like the sound of the apricot glaze, it's something I've never tried on corned beef. Since I didn't play Irish yesterday, today might be the perfect day to scope out a corned beef brisket on sale so I can try it out.

I've prepared this menu now for the 2-3 years since I first discovered it on her blog. This year, I bought an extra corned beef for the freezer. This is Irish bliss personafide. This is in my keeper file. :-)

Yo must,must,must corn your own beef! It is so easy, but the outcome is lovely. The only problem is you have to get used to the rather greyish beef -- no nitrates, no bright pink corned beef! I have made both a dry and wet corning -- the wet was voted superior, but I also used more seasoning...next project for you?

I apologize, but I'm confused. (This looks wonderful, by the way.) The cabbage that you saute, it is the same cabbage that you simmered with the corned beef? It seems like maybe it would get way overdone...or is that not possible with cabbage? Thank you.

Ooh now I know why the recipe changed as I was making it yesterday! You changed it. LOL I was so confused.

BTW since it changed mid way... I already had the cabbage in the crock pot. I did sautee it but not as long as I would have done if it wasn't in the crock pot. It was still very good and not mushy at all.

I made this entire menu for St. Patrick's day along with the Guiness chocolate cake with Bailey's Irish Cream frosting. It was a HUGE hit with the clan I was feeding! THANK YOU for all your wonderful recipes...you inspire me to get back in the kitchen! :)

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I came to realize that my meals were boring and that I had been eating the same few dishes over and over again for years. It was time for a change! I now spend my free time searching for, creating and trying tasty new recipes in my closet sized kitchen.